Family Reunion
by ForevermoreNevermore
Summary: While traveling through the forest near a full moon, Wolf finds some people he knows, but that may not be a good thing, knowing the company he keeps.
1. PMSing?

_I love this mini-series, but I don't think it gets the populatity it deserves._

_Disclaimer: I do not own The 10th Kingdom.  
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Like a bear drunk on honey, the somewhat bemused wolfie seemed to fumble through the darkening forest. He would look one way, stop, whip his head in the other direction, and then run off into the forest for about 30 seconds. He wouldn't stay away for long, though, and would reappear back on the trail.

"Wolf, what's wrong?" Virginia finally asked. Wolf jumped as though he had forgotten that he was traveling with people.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" he said, scratching the side of his head sporadically as he always did. Prince stopped and sat down on the dirt, waving his tail at his "manservant" to stop as well.

_'Antony, do you suppose something's wrong with that overgrown wolf?'_ he asked. Tony sighed and shook his head, his shoulders rising to meet his ears. Wolf shook his head quickly and turned around just as fast. He seemed to preoccupied with what was going on to his sides, that he didn't see the tree looming just before him, until a certain little knob reached out and jabbed him between the eyes.

"Huff puff!" he cursed, running his hands up to where he was stabbed. Virginia couldn't suppress her school-girlish laugh, prompting Tony to realize what was the matter. _He's just trying to make my daughter laugh! Why that little womani-_

"Oh, shut up!" Wolf snapped at Virginia and began to stalk ahead. The girl flinched and turned to look at her father, her expression: slightly confused and angry. Tony felt just as confused.

"Maybe he's pmsing again?" Tony threw out hopefully. Virginia shook her head and turned her sapphire eyes back to the stumbling Wolf.

"No, it's not even near the full moon," she muttered softly. The three of them watched the stumbling man as he growled and walked down the path. His hair was spiked up almost to the point of gel, and his eyes were bloodshot as though he hadn't been sleeping. His whole body was in constant movement, always twitching or moving. It was almost like ever fiber of his being had been electrified.

Wolf suddenly stopped and whirled around, "we really shouldn't be here…" he trailed off ominously, then shook his head and stormed off, following the trail even deeper. Virginia, who thought she might actually get to the root of the problem, sped up.

"Why? It doesn't look like we'll get lost," she eyed the pale trail, and then the fretful man. Wolf growled and looked as though to turn away, then turned back to Virginia.

"Oh… we won't get lost. That's the problem. I know this place too well. It's smells, it's trails, it's flora… fauna… nothing about this place has changed." He growled out fauna. "_No one_ has changed and it's too close to a full moon for my liking." He glanced furtively at Virginia like a steak or fine porcelain, it was hard to tell.

"What's so bad about this forest? It's gorgeous. The trees are huge and everything about it is vibrant… maybe even a tad mysterious."

"Hopefully it'll stay mysterious." Wolf barked, glaring into the shadows. And on that note, he turned around and marched on, leaving the three humans in the dark.

_'Antony, I don't believe we should stay here. If' _Prince paused and stared into the forest_ '… whatever Wolf's afraid of doesn't get us, he might.'_ Using his nose, he pointed up at the evening sky. The moon was beginning to show, but there was slim slice missing from it.

"You might have a point there…" Tony whispered softly, feeling a slight knot fold into his stomach. Suddenly, a howl lit up the night, a heartwrenching, yet joyful howl that made the hair on Tony's neck stand up, and Prince's hackles raise. Virginia looked around wildly, but Wolf turned to his left, a shine in his eyes, but it was a feral shine… and it scared them.

Wolf whispered something and took off into the forest. Virginia took off after him without a moment's haste. Tony and Prince exchanged glanced before taking off after them. The foliage flew past in a green flash.

"Don't follow me!" Wolf growled back. Virginia never slowed, merely shook her head in defiance.

"You can't get rid of us that easily!" Wolf turned on her.

"Either you stop and go back to the path or I'll lose you in the trees," he hissed through barred teeth. Virginia stepped up to him and stood merely inches from his face.

"That's a risk I'll have to take." Wolf growled at her and for a moment looked as if he was going to eat her.

"You can try…" and once again he was off, speeding through the trees like a barracuda through the ocean. He slid and sped in and out of the trees, leaving Virginia in utter fascination. She sighed and took off, tripping over a branch that was lazily sticking out of the ground. Her face landed in the rich topsoil.

"Virginia!" Tony called, rushing over to his daughter. He kneeled down beside her… just before he heard the growling behind him. Prince whimpered and ran in front of Tony.

'_Antony! Behind you!_' the befuddled manservant turned around, just in time to get a face full of rank, hot breath that smelled of rotten flesh and hate. The dirt, though it was airy and soft, dug into his back as the full pressure of something pressed him into the ground.

"Mother… dear…" the thing hissed back to the leaves. Tony managed to open his eyes, only to close them as another assault of hot air hit him. "I found dinner…"

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_Voila! I hope you like it. I want to continue them, but I don't know... tell me what you think, please!_

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	2. Ma and Pa

_Thank you for your review! (I honestly didn't think that many people even read these stories anymore). But again, thank you, and here's the next chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own The 10th Kingdom.

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Wolf smelled them before he heard them, but that's not saying anything. He smelt them before they entered that accursed forest, but he heard them soon after. Now, though, he heard them close, too close.

"Father? Is that young women too thin to you?" Wolf stopped short, and whipped around only to find green foliage. He snapped his teeth and followed his nose through the obstructive branches. No way he was going to let them have a piece of his sweet nugget.

"Maybe just a bit, but she smells delicious!" Wolf could practically see the grin on that man's face, his grizzled mustache and graying black hair.

"I expect you would say that," the women laughed, grating against the hurried man's last nerve. He grit his teeth together and jumped through the last tree, standing his ground and glaring at the two people before him. They turned to look at him, and were all smiles and teeth.

"Wolf!" they shouted simultaneously, the man getting off of Tony to come towards him. Wolf put on a grin, though the hair on the back of his neck stayed up. It never go down, not while he was around these horrible… lousy… despicable…

"Mom! Dad!" the response was instantaneous. Prince flung his head to look, almost glare, at him. Tony (after wiping a pound of decomposed leaves and dirt off his face) dropped his jaw and stared at Wolf. Virginia plucked nervously her hair and looked at him, slightly shocked.

To be more accurate, their names were Mary and Dylan. (Wolfies have no imagination when it comes to naming their children. Where else would Wolf come from?)

"Oh! Look Mama, our little boy's come home!" Dylan said, enveloping Wolf in a bear hug. His beard scratched Wolf's forehead.

"Oh Papa!" Mary squeaked as she joined the fray and nearly broke Wolf's back. Their rotund stomach's pushed against Wolf's small one and knocked the air out of him.

"Oh God!" Wolf huffed, staring over his mother's head to meet his sweetheart's gaze. "Uh, Virginia!" he grunted as he untangled himself from his parents. "Tony… Prince, I'd like you to meet my parents, Mary," he pointed to his short, squat, dark-haired mother. "And Dylan," he jerked his head in the direction of his tall, fat, dark-haired father. "Mary… Dylan, Virginia, Tony and Prince," his parents didn't wave, but merely gave them a hungry nod. Dylan turned to Wolf and grinned.

"Where's the gravy?" Wolf scratched his ear and opened his mouth to speak. "And I'm glad you got here, she almost wore all of her juicy meat away!" he looked pointedly at Virginia. "But those thighs still got some juicy meat on them!" Virginia squeaked in embarrassment and glanced down at her 'thunder thighs'.

"They're not that big, are they?" Wolf heard her mutter to herself. He made a mental note to make her feel beautiful later, but for now he had to keep her off the menu.

"Dad! They're not to eat! They're my friends!"

"Friends? You?!" A raucous laughter rose from the trees, catching the unsuspecting Wolf by surprise. His hackles rose and he snarled, ready to rip his head off the moment he stepped through the fronds. But, his parents had other thoughts.

"Jekyll!" they shouted joyously, simultaneously.

"Jekyll?" Wolf's companions asked each other (though Prince's sounded more barkish).

"Jekyll…" Wolf echoed, his voice resounding around his rib cage and filling the air with his hate. The wolfie stepped through the trees, if that's what you could call his entrance. It was more like he had slid through the leaves without ever touching a blade of grass. He shot his burgundy gaze around the small clearing, stopping for longer than Wolf would have preferred on Virginia. His dark brown hair curled around his face, it's curls exentuating his pale skin. He smiled a predatory smile at Virginia and stepped over to her, brushing the nonexistent dust off of his black overcoat.

"Yes, as you can tell my name has a way of getting around. But yours doesn't…" he left the end hanging, grabbed her hand, and placed his lips on the porcelain skin. Wolf watched in horror as he gently licked it, and then felt an icy wind rake through his body as Virginia didn't flinch, but blushed and giggled out a faint "Virginia". Wolf cleared his throat loudly. Jekyll's burgundy stare bore into his pale brown eyes.

"Oh, hello brother. As I was saying, you? The pip-squeak?" He stared up at Virginia, and Wolf searched her face for any sign of defense, but found none. "You made friends with _humans?_" _And a dog!_ Wolf mentally added.

"Pip-squeak?" Tony asked, self-consciously patting Prince's head (ignoring the waves of pure hate rolling of his golden coat) as he was stared down by Wolf's brother. Wolf felt bile rise in his throat, of course _he_ would want to make him look bad in front of Virginia, but after searching his round face, he saw only curiosity.

"Oh yes, we may be some of the few decent Wolfies," Wolf knew he only meant himself, but his parents thought he meant the household. "but, he was the runt of the litter, if you will," he gave a small, pitying smile to Wolf, who scowled in return.

"Okay! Nice to see you brother! Mom! Dad! Glad we could connect again!" Wolf gave a quick hug to his mom and dad, and stopped himself before he hugged Jekyll. He backed up till he was next to his beloved. "But we really have to go. We have a deadline," which was technically true. He needed to get out before he lost his temper. "We'll write!"

"Oh, don't be silly! You can't just come by and not stay for awhile! We" she grabbed Dylan and Jekyll, making it look like a Christmas card. "would love it you would stay!" _I'm sure you'd love dinner too…_

"I'm sorry Mom, but we'd"

"Love to stay!" Virginia jumped in. Wolf gaped at her, but she only had eyes for Jekyll.

"It'd be nice to meet your family, Wolf," Tony said in a stage whisper. Prince barked, and Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Guys! We've gotta get going, remember?" Wolf's voice rose slightly higher as he whined to find an exit.

Prince let out a whine that sounded somewhat sinister, and Tony flashed a grin. "The only reason we have to get going is so that Prince can get back-" he started to say body, but stopped himself. "Home. And he said it was all right with him." Oh-ho, if looks could kill, they would've been without a prince. Dylan and Mary exchanged a snicker.

"Oh, right. The _dog_ said so…" they laughed, making Tony's face turn red and Prince to give out an indignant whine. Wolf had found it hard to believe at first, but finally realized something was strange with that dog. Mary took a step forward, gently grasping Virginia's hand. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but you must understand it's our nature." She explained, willing her to understand. Virginia shot a furtive glance at Wolf and turned back to Mary.

"Oh, I'm sure I know better than anyone." Wolf flinched, inwardly berating himself as he had done every day for the mistake with 'grandma'. Mary missed the glance and her face brightened.

"Well then, come! We must get back, it's almost dinner time!" she noticed the look passed among the newcomers and laughed reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll have venison tonight! Consider it a…" she chewed over for the right words "welcome dinner for guests!" and she turned around and took off into the forest, closely followed by Dylan. Jekyll watched them recede into the forest before turning around and eyeing the grass stains on Virginia's knees with interest.

He laughed strangely and walked over to her. "Well, we can't have you falling, now can we?" and without further warning, he bent down, wrapped his arm around her knees, popped her up into the air, and caught her faultlessly. She giggled like a little schoolgirl as he turned around and disappeared into the forest, carrying Virginia bridal style. Wolf had held it in long enough, he let out a feral bark and stalked over to the edge of the clearing.

"Hey!" Wolf turned around to see Tony still standing where he had, pity shining in his dark eyes. "If it means anything, when it comes down to it, I'd rather chase you off my property with gun than him." Wolf let out a wry chuckle before turning back to the trees.

"Thanks Tony." He let the thank you settle on the clearing, before the ex-janitor cleared his throat.

"Well, we better go, it'd suck to get lost." He muttered, walking into the forest. Wolf felt the urge to run through the trees, feel the small, earthy wind in his face, but he bit down the urge to follow Tony at his pace. Besides, he couldn't leave his future father-in-law lost in his home forest. They walked in silence (which was rare for Wolf, and he knew Tony knew that), letting the birds fill the silence with their strange song. Here, in this eternal forest, it was different than anyplace else in all the 9, now 10, Kingdoms. The trees, the animals, nothing ever changed. This was almost like a timeless river, always in the same place, same exact spot no matter how many years pass its lazy waters. _Of course, there's erosion and deposition…_ Wolf though, kicking a mushroom.

After ages of quiet traveling, they entered a large clearing. The trees opened up, allowing the beaming sunlight to shine on the scene before the two travelers. It looked like a traveling circus. Men, Women, Infants, Animals of all kind buzzed around, chattering or juggling or some even walking on stilts. Colorful houses sprouted up their colors reminiscent of the birds of paradise. Small booths harbored men, not selling, but advertising their free goods. Jewelry, fruit, flowers exploded from the booths, giving them a ragged and unorthodox look. Children played tag, running around with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. To anyone else, it would've looked like a traveling circus or a brilliantly colored page out of a child's fable book, but to the Wolfie standing watch, this was home.

"Tony, welcome home!"

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_There you have it! \^o^/_


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